I Follow the Night
by Tahiri Solo
Summary: A complicated (at least, it WILL be complicated) story that takes place during their 5th year. Includes Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, and yes, Lupin gets a girl. :) ~CHAPTER SEVEN ADDED~
1. Boredom

I Follow the Night  
By Tahiri Solo  
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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, places and such mentioned in this story. They belong to J.K Rowling. I do not own them and am in no way getting paid for this story. I do, however, own Reed. She is MINE. Anything you recognize is J.K.'s, and does NOT belong to me. Anything you don't recognize, however, DOES belong to me. Please don't steal my characters.  
Also, if this story bears any resemblance to stories written my others, that is purely coincidental. Oh and the song/title belongs to Baz Luhrman, I guess, since he created Moulin Rouge.   
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*I follow the night  
Can't stand the light  
When will I begin  
To live again?*  
  
One Day I'll Fly Away, Moulin Rouge  
  
  
  
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Chapter One: Boredom  
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Harry Potter was bored. Very, very bored.   
  
There was literally nothing to do. It was Christmas break, and almost all of the students had gone home for the holidays. Hogwarts was even more empty than usual on the Christmas break, because, with the threat of Voldemort looming ever closer, the students had wanted to be with their families. Hermione Granger, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George Weasley, and Harry himself were the only Gryffindors left.   
  
Everything was so quiet, so empty. It was thoroughly depressing.  
  
Some way to spend Christmas, Harry thought miserably. I wish I could be home. Not with the Dursleys, but with my mum and dad.  
  
Ginny Weasley looked up at him from where she was curled up in a chair at the other end of the Gryffindor common room, her eyes sad. "I'm sorry, Harry," she whispered.  
  
"For what?" Harry asked, baffled.  
  
Ginny frowned. "You just said you wished you were with your mum and dad."  
  
Harry winced. He hadn't realized he'd said that out loud. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to say that. I was thinking to myself, and I guess I was thinking louder than I realized."  
  
Ginny smiled gently, though her eyes were still sad. "Nothing to be sorry for, Harry. I know I can only imagine what you're going through, but if there's ever anything I can do to help . . ."  
  
Her voice trailed off, and she suddenly walked across the room and hugged him, her red hair drifting up into his face and tickling his chin.   
  
Harry blinked in surprise, but hugged her back. Somehow, she felt surprisingly comforting and warm against him, and some of the ache that came from missing his family disappeared.  
  
Ginny finally pulled away, blushing and shivering. Harry noticed her shivering and frowned slightly. "Ginny, are you okay? I know it's cold in here, even with the fire."  
  
He pulled her back into his arms again, picking up a blanket from a nearby chair and wrapping it around her thin frame, trying to warm her.  
  
"Um, Harry, I'm not cold. This is kind of why I'm shivering," Ginny whispered and pulled back from him, her face nearly as red as her hair. She bit her lip and looked away.  
  
Harry blushed himself. But before he could say anything, Headmaster Dumbledore strode into the common room.  
  
Harry blinked at him in surprise. "Professor, what are you doing here? Is there something wrong?"  
  
The headmaster's blue eyes twinkled merrily. "No, there's absolutely nothing wrong. Quite the contrary. We have a surprise for you. Visitors, I should say."  
  
Harry's eyebrows rose over his green eyes. "Visitors? Who?"  
  
Dumbledore gave him a secretive smile. "They wish to remain anonymous at this point. You'll find out in just a few minutes, if you'll come with me."  
  
Harry glanced over at Ginny, who shrugged, her cheeks now back to their normal color.   
  
With a small smile at Ginny, Harry then followed Dumbledore out of the common room. 


	2. Unexpected Visitors

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Chapter Two: Unexpected Visitors  
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A/N: I know this chapter is short, and I apologize. But I promise, there will be more up soon, if all goes well.  
PS ~ Angel, this chapter does indeed clear that up. Are they who you thought they were? *grins*  
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Dumbledore led him to his office, then smiled down at Harry and opened the door.  
  
Inside the office stood -   
  
"Sirius! Lupin!" Harry exclaimed, mouth dropping open. "What're you doing here?"  
  
His godfather and former teacher grinned at him. "Dumbledore just got my name cleared with the Ministry, and I didn't want to leave you by yourself on Christmas," Sirius said. "I started thinking of all the trouble you could get into here with everything so empty." He smirked. "Heaven knows I would have wrecked the place when I was your age."  
  
Lupin smiled at Harry, and Harry noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Lupin looked sick and exhausted, though happy. "Yes, Sirius and your father and I were all quite adept at troublemaking."  
  
"How long will you be staying?" Harry asked, grinning himself.  
  
"For the entire holiday," Sirius answered. "Maybe more. It depends. We're not here for just a visit; we're also here to help fight Voldemort."  
  
Harry nodded. He should have suspected that.   
  
"Anyway," Lupin said in a cheerful voice that belied the tired lines on his young face, "this castle seems quite lonely. We should liven it up some."  
  
He raised his eyebrows at Sirius. "It's been years since Padfoot and Moony wreaked havoc here."  
  
Sirius laughed. "Harry, don't listen to him. You know very well that I wreaked plenty of havoc in here about two years ago."  
  
"What kind of havoc are you talking about?" Harry asked Lupin with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.   
  
Sirius chuckled. "Harry, you remind me of your father. That's exactly the sort of thing James would have said."  
  
Lupin smiled sadly. "Speaking of your father, I thought that perhaps we could show you some of the secret places we found in Hogwarts."  
  
Harry's eyes lit up. "Seriously?"  
  
"I think James would have wanted us to," Sirius said. His eyes flashed with momentary sadness, but he grinned quickly and covered it.   
  
Harry noticed, but chose to ignore it. "Wicked. When can we go?"  
  
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Later that night, Sirius, Lupin, and Harry, armed with the Marauder's Map, set out to explore Hogwarts.   
  
Harry had no idea what the point of that was, but it would definitely be fun to explore Hogwarts without risking getting expelled. And he supposed it must bring back old memories for Sirius and Lupin.   
  
And plus, it was a way to kill time.   
  
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Harry soon realized that he had no idea where they were anymore. Sirius and Lupin, with the Marauder's Map, apparently did, however.   
  
The three of them ended up going down a very dark, very deserted hallway. Harry could tell that it hadn't been used in more than likely years, because it was laden with dust and cobwebs were in every corner. The spiders themselves were enormous.  
  
It was a good thing Ron hadn't gone.   
  
He saw Lupin glance over at Sirius curiously. "I don't remember this. Do you?"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "No . . . it's not on the map either. That means we were never here."  
  
Harry's eyebrows rose. "Well, let's check it out, then." He noticed a door at the end of the hallway and headed in that direction, expecting to find something interesting beyond it.   
  
But he wasn't prepared for what he saw.  
  
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The door opened into a large room greatly resembling a library. Bookcases took up much of the wall space, and there were many tables filled with books. There was also a large assortment of chairs, and, to Harry's great surprise, blankets were set up on the floor to form a bed.   
  
But that wasn't the most extraordinary thing about the room.  
  
In its center stood a beautiful young woman. 


	3. Veritaserum

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Chapter Three: Veritaserum   
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A/N: I'm so sorry this took so bloody long to get up. I guess I kind of lost interest in it for a while. And I'm not so sure if I like this chapter or not. It's probably stupid, but if I'm going to continue this (and I'm not sure of that either) there needs to be some background information. If you like this at all, PLEASE tell me. That way, I'll know whether or not to continue it.   
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The girl and Harry merely stared at each other for several seconds. Then Lupin and Sirius burst in behind him, their wands out and aimed at the girl.   
  
The girl backed up several paces and held her hands up in a gesture of peace. "Whoa," she said, her voice pleasantly deep. "I'm not here to hurt anyone." Her eyes held a mixture of fear and surprise.   
  
"Then what are you here for?" Sirius growled, his wand pointing directly at her heart. "I want your name, and your purpose for being here, and I want it now."  
  
"My name is Reed," she said softly. "I - this is a long story, but I'll try to explain things. I'm an orphan. I've been one since I was a little girl. My parents died, and I was a witch like my mother, but I didn't have the money to go to Hogwarts. I managed to study what I could and am fairly skilled in magic now. I know some things about Voldemort - sorry, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - and I wanted to come here to the school to tell the headmaster. But once I got here, I realized they might not listen to me because I was an orphan and I was never a student here. So I found this room and stayed here, and studied all these old books I found. This way, if anything ever happened with the Dark Lord, I would be nearby to offer my assistance."  
  
Her big brown eyes, wide with fright, locked onto Lupin's. "Please, I never came here to hurt anyone. I -"  
  
"We're going to take you to the headmaster," Sirius said. "For all we know, you could be a Death Eater in disguise."  
  
He pointed his wand at her, muttered something, and ropes shot out to bind her.   
  
Reed bit her lip, but didn't protest.   
  
Harry stared at her with eyes almost as wide as hers. Of all the things he had thought he might find on the little trip with Sirius and Lupin, this was definitely the last thing he had expected.   
  
He wondered if she was actually a Death Eater in disguise come to attack Hogwarts. Something in his gut told him she wasn't. The look of wide-eyed terror she'd had . . . Somehow, he didn't think that had been faked.   
  
  
Reed followed quietly along behind Lupin. Sirius walked behind her, his wand still out and aimed on the girl. Harry walked a good distance behind the three of them, having a feeling that he did not want to get in the way.   
  
He wondered who she was, and why she was here.  
  
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They finally reached Dumbledore's office. Lupin knocked loudly on the door, Sirius still pointing his wand at the girl.  
  
About a minute later, a tired-looking Dumbledore answered the door. "Lupin, Sirius, what are you doing here? Is something - who is this?"  
  
Shock registered in the old headmaster's blue eyes.  
  
"We found her in a deserted room. Apparently, she's been hiding out here for quite some time."  
  
Dumbledore's eyes became hard and locked onto the girls. "And what is your name, young lady?"  
  
"Reed, sir." She flinched at his voice, as though afraid that he would hurt her.  
  
"Lupin, would you please fetch Minerva and Severus? Ask him to bring the strongest truth potion he has."  
  
Reed paled, but said nothing.  
  
Lupin, with one last look at her, left the office at a brisk trot.  
  
  
Several minutes later he had arrived, with a surprised-looking Professor McGonagall and an apparently very disgusted Professor Snape, who was carrying a vile of something or other.   
  
Snape eyed Reed with utmost loathing. "And this piece of vermin was found in a deserted room?"  
  
"And how would you know that this young woman is indeed a 'piece of vermin'?" Dumbledore asked calmly.  
  
"Like seeks like?" Lupin suggested sarcastically.   
  
Dumbledore frowned, then gestured for them all to sit down. "Administer the potion, Severus, but do not say anything to the girl. I will do the questioning," he said, his voice slightly hard.  
  
Snape, glowering, held the vile to the girl's lips. She drank, despite the fact that she was almost trembling with fright.  
  
She looked to Harry like a deer caught in headlights.  
  
When she had drank the entire bottle, Dumbledore waved Snape off away from her, leaned forward on his desk, and began speaking to the girl.  
  
"What is your name?"  
  
"Reed, sir."  
  
"Last name?"  
  
Reed swallowed hard. "Just Reed."  
  
Dumbledore frowned slightly. "No last name? Why?"  
  
"I - I'm an orphan."  
  
"What happened to your parents?"  
  
"They died."  
  
"How did they die?"  
  
Her eyes filled with tears. "Please, don't make me tell you this."  
  
Dumbledore stared hard into her eyes. "I have to know. How did your parents die?"  
  
It was obvious she was on the verge of sobs, but she choked them back. The Veritaserum forced her to tell them all the story, despite her more than obvious distress.  
  
"My mum was a witch. Dad didn't know. She never told him. He was out in the woods hunting one day, and all of a sudden a wolf attacked him. That was really strange, because there weren't exactly wolves in our area. It was even stranger because it only bit him once, on the arm, then ran away. My father wasn't badly hurt. He just went to the hospital and got some stitches and rabies shots, and then he was okay . . . until the next full moon.  
  
"It wasn't really a wolf that had bit him. It was a werewolf.  
  
"The next full moon, he transformed. Before my mum could do anything, he bit her. So then both of my parents were werewolves. My mum ran and got away from him. My dad was left with no one to bite and he bit himself instead."  
  
She sighed. "He bit himself so much he died. I saw his body. There was a giant wolf lying sprawled in our living room, surrounded by a pool of blood and tufts of fur. I threw up. A lot.  
  
"My mum was devastated when Dad died, but we were all too young to really understand what had gone on. We didn't realize that Mum was a werewolf too. When the full moon came, she locked herself up in the garage and had our aunt come and watch us. She made up various excuses of where she was going, but we still heard all this awful howling coming from our garage. Since we were just little, we thought it was a monster or some such.  
  
"Finally, one day I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to know what was in there. My aunt always said it was just our imaginations, but we knew it wasn't. When she was out shopping for groceries, I decided to open the garage door and find out what it was. The garage had a door that led into our living room, so I told my little sister to stay in the living room by the phone in case anything would happen to me and she would need to call for help. I can't believe I was stupid enough to do something like that, but I honestly didn't think there was anything in there that would hurt us. I had never liked my aunt very much, and I thought she had some sort of poor animal in captivity that she didn't want us to know about. I wanted to set it free. I've always been like that - having a soft spot for animals."  
  
Reed stared off into space, as if willing herself to disappear, to ignore the words being forced out of her mouth by the potion, to not hear what she had no choice to say.   
  
"When I opened the door, out came a huge werewolf. For some reason, it ran right past me as if it didn't even realize I was there and into the living room. It bit my sister. She started transforming right then, and it was the most awful thing I've ever seen. She turned into a little tiny wolf cub, only she had horribly long fangs and claws. Her fangs almost reached the floor because she was so small.  
  
"Then, before she was fully transformed - she still had human eyes and curly blonde hair on her head - my mum bit her neck, picked her up, and shook her until she was dead. Blood was everywhere. It was on the walls, the furniture, and me and my mum.   
  
"I screamed. And screamed. I screamed without stopping or pause for breath. I literally screamed so much I couldn't get any air and I passed out.  
  
"When I woke up, a huge werewolf was standing over me. Its - her - mouth was open and she was about to bite me. But I screamed again, so shrilly that I startled it and it backed away long enough for me to get up. I grabbed a vase and threw it at her head, and I knocked her out.   
  
"I realized she was out cold, so I froze for a few minutes because I wasn't sure what I should do. But then I saw my little sister's body and lost it.  
  
"I started acting without reason. All I could think of was that this giant wolf-creature sprawled unconscious in our normally spotless living room was my mother. She had killed her baby daughter. If she had had any decency, she would have left home so there would be no chance that we would be subjected to her in her wolf form.   
  
"I went insane. I had loved my sister dearly, and there she was, lying in a heap on the carpet, half in wolf form, and dead.  
  
"While my mother was still unconscious, I started beating her with anything I could find. I got out my father's old walking stick and hit her with it. I threw vases at her. Paper weights. Shoes. Books. Whatever I could find. I even managed to pick up a tiny end table and throw it at her. I finally realized she was dead. That I had killed her.  
  
"But what I didn't realize was that while I was unconscious, she had bitten me. I didn't find that out till the next full moon, when I started to transform. I'm a freak, just like my mother was. Just like her. Made into a cold-blooded killer."  
  
Reed's voice broke then. She buried her face in her hands and began to weep. "Please, don't make me say any more. I can't. It hurts too much," she begged.  
  
Dumbledore frowned. "I'm sorry. I don't want to subject you to this, but Voldemort is rising in power and I have been expecting him to attack the school for quite some time now. We found you hiding in a deserted room, and you will have to give us an explanation for that. I'm sorry, but I can't risk the entire school being attacked. You must continue."  
  
"Dumbledore, please," Lupin interjected. Harry was startled to notice that there were tears in his gray eyes. "Look at her. You'll kill her if you make her go any further. Let me take her to a guest room. Please."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Young lady, are you, in any way, working for Voldemort or wish to see him once again rise to power?'  
  
"N-no," Reed choked out between sobs. "That's the last thing I want."  
  
"Good enough," Dumbledore announced. "Lupin, you may take her to a guest room now, if you wish. Please make sure she is comfortable."  
  
Lupin nodded silently, and without saying anything, he carefully picked the young woman up and carried her out of the room. 


	4. By the Fire

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Chapter Four: By the Fire  
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A/N: Two chapters in one day! Go me! LOL. You know, I LOVE Lupin, he is just such a cutie (*grins*) that I just HAD to get him a girl. And before anyone can ask, no, I have NOT decided to make Lupin a pedophile. (Ew . . . icky. I don't write that kind of stuff, okay?!) Reed is in her twenties, I'm not sure exactly how old yet. And Lupin isn't really that old (if anyone knows his exact age, please let me know) so it's not a major age difference here. Again, if you like this at all, please tell me so I'll know whether or not to continue it.   
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Lupin carried the still-sobbing Reed into one of Hogwarts' guest rooms. He gently deposited her in a large, comfortable couch facing a fireplace, using a simple spell to light the fire. He then quickly checked to make sure that the room was fit for visitors.   
  
It had everything she would need to keep her comfortable, but somehow, Lupin was reluctant to leave while she was so distraught.  
  
She sensed him watching her and forced herself to stop crying.  
  
"What? Are you here to mock me? I'm sure all you people here are prejudiced towards werewolves. I can't help it, you know. I'm a cold-blooded killer, but not by choice," she growled, her deep voice sounding surprisingly wolf-like in her anger.  
  
Lupin walked over to the girl and knelt down by her. He gazed into her huge brown eyes for several moments before softly admitting, "I know you can't help it. I know, better than you could imagine."  
  
He sighed. "I'm a werewolf too."  
  
Reed's mouth dropped open. "You are?" she whispered, her eyes registering shock.  
  
Lupin nodded sadly. "I was bitten when I was a little boy. So I know what you've gone through."  
  
"I'm not sure that's possible," she murmured. "Did you willingly murder your own mother and were responsible for the death of your beloved baby sister?"  
  
Lupin sat next to her, her obvious pain tearing a hole in his own heart. He wanted so much to help her . . . "That was not your fault."  
  
"And how do you know that? You weren't there. You didn't see how crazed I became."  
  
"You were a little girl," he said softly. "I probably would have done the same thing if I'd been in your place. That was not your fault."  
  
"I can't help but think that it was," she managed, then burst into tears.  
  
Lupin couldn't stand seeing her so upset. He wished that he could somehow stop her pain, but he knew there was nothing he could say to ease the weight of all she had been through.  
  
So instead, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.  
  
Reed buried her face in the crook of his shoulder and wept.  
  
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Lupin held Reed until she finally stilled in her trembling sobs.   
  
She was suddenly quiet, and her body stopped shaking. Lupin realized she was asleep. He gently picked her up and carried her over to the guest bed in the other corner of the room.  
  
She stirred in her sleep, but did not wake.  
  
Lupin carefully laid her down on the bed, and covered her with a quilt that had been neatly folded at the end of the bed.   
  
Before he left the room, he stopped to gaze down at her.  
  
The young woman was certainly beautiful, but her beauty was overshadowed by the haunted look in her eyes.  
  
She'd been through so much, Lupin knew. He knew, because he had been through many of the same things himself.   
  
It hurt him to see someone in almost the exact same position as himself. It hurt, because he knew how painful it was, and yet despite this knowledge, there was nothing he could do to help her.  
  
Sighing, he knelt beside the young woman and brushed some stray hairs away from her face. "I'm sorry," he whispered, almost inaudibly. "I'm so sorry."  
  
He began to stand, intending to leave, but before he did, Lupin leaned down, and, acting on impulse, kissed Reed softly on the forehead.  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered again, then left. 


	5. Pillow Fights

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Chapter Five: Pillow Fights  
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A/N: MAJOR apologies for the wait. Bad Tahiri! But I just kind of...lost interest in this one for a while. A long while. But I'm at work on chapter six already, so hopefully I can keep my attention on it, heh.  
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About an hour later, Harry was headed up to the Gryffindor boys' dorm. Dumbledore wouldn't let him in on the conversations he was having with Sirius, Lupin, McGonagall, and Snape.  
  
Harry had quickly gotten annoyed by their secrecy and decided to go to bed. There was nothing better to do anyway.  
  
  
To his surprise, when Harry reached the common room, he realized that he was not alone.   
  
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were sitting up waiting for him, looking surprised and worried.   
  
"Where have you been?" Ron and Hermione asked in the same breath.   
  
"Harry, what's going on?" Ginny asked softly, her wide eyes filled with concern. "Is everything okay?"  
  
"Yeah, Gin," Harry replied, giving her a small smile. "At least, I think everything's okay."  
  
"What is going on here?" Ron demanded, knowing instantly from the look on Harry's face that something was going on, and something big.  
  
"Lupin and Sirius took me exploring. They said my dad would have wanted me to see all the secret places they had found. We got to this one room, and we found someone living in it."  
  
A collective gasp went up.   
  
"What?!" Hermione shrieked. "How did anyone get in?! In Hogwarts, A History, it says that -"  
  
"Shut up, Hermione," Ron said quickly. "Harry, were - were they a Death Eater?"  
  
"No," Harry said. "It was a girl - young woman. I don't know how old she was, but she was definitely older than us. Sirius and Lupin took her up to Dumbledore, and he gave her Veritaserum. Her name is Reed, she's on our side, an orphan, and a werewolf."  
  
Everyone's mouth dropped open as Harry gave them all the details. When he got to the part about her family dying, Ginny looked like she was near tears, so Harry quickly changed the subject.   
  
"I don't know what's going to happen to her. She finally broke down and started crying, and Lupin begged Dumbledore to let him take her to a guest room and let her calm down. Dumbledore made sure she wasn't working for Voldemort -"  
  
"Say You-Know-Who!" Ron growled.  
  
"And then he let Lupin take her off," Harry continued without missing a beat. "Maybe I'm crazy, but to me, it looked almost like Lupin was starting to fancy her."  
  
"Aw!" Hermione exclaimed. "How sweet!"  
  
Harry grinned, then sobered. "I feel sorry for Reed. From what I heard, she's been through a lot. I only wish I knew what she was doing here."  
  
"You don't fancy her, do you?" Ron demanded.  
  
"No!" Harry was taken aback by that question. "I don't know where you got that from. Just because I said I felt bad for her doesn't mean I fancy her!"  
  
"Sorry," Ron said, looking chagrined.   
  
Ginny sat quietly through it all.  
  
"Anyway," Hermione said quickly, sensing the awkward situation. "What did Dumbledore say about Reed?'  
  
"He didn't really say anything. I don't know what they're going to do with her."  
  
"Turn her into the Ministry of Magic, maybe?" Hermione suggested.  
  
"I hope not. I doubt the Ministry would show her much mercy. She didn't really do anything to hurt anyone, though I have no idea what she was doing here in the first place," Harry said.  
  
"She's a mystery, all right," Hermione said, looking lost in thought.  
  
"Aren't all females?" Ron asked with a snort.  
  
The next thing Ron knew, he was being slapped upside the head by an agitated Hermione. "Hey! What was that for?" he sputtered, then turned to Harry. "You see what I mean?! I just make an innocent comment and she slaps me!"  
  
"Innocent? Ronald Weasley, I don't think innocent is the word you're looking for. Try ignorant."   
  
"Hermione Granger, have you stooped so low as to insult my vocabulary?"  
  
Hermione's cheeks were flushed, and she appeared quite angry. But to anyone that knew her, she was obviously having a good bit of fun. "Maybe not your vocabulary, but certainly your intelligence!"   
  
Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny, who giggled and stood up from where she was sitting to stand by his side. "Those two are so clueless," she whispered, watching Ron and Hermione slap each other with pillows they had grabbed from the couch they had been sitting on. "They flirt and don't even realize they're flirting!"  
  
"They're definitely an odd pair," Harry whispered back.  
  
"No kidding," Ginny whispered back with a snort. "But I think they're cute together."  
  
"In an odd sort of way."  
  
Ginny giggled again and unconsciously leaned her head against Harry's shoulder. Ginny may not have realized what she was doing, but Harry certainly did, and he blinked in surprise. But he couldn't say he minded, and debated whether or not he should put his arm around her shoulders.   
  
But, he was spared having to make that decision when Ron suddenly shouted, "Oy, Harry! Look out!" and threw a pillow directly at his face, knocking his glasses askew.   
  
Ginny began laughing helplessly at this, so Harry scooped up the pillow and playfully whacked her with it. At that, a monstrous pillow fight ensued.  
  
Ron began chasing a half-giggling, half-screaming Hermione around the common room, while Harry and Ginny simply pelted each other from where they stood.   
  
"Do you realize how childish we're all acting?" Hermione yelled, still being pursued by a laughing Ron.   
  
"Herms, don't get all prefect-y on us now!"  
  
"When did I ever say you could call me Herms?!"  
  
"When did I ever say you could call me ignorant?" Ron yelled back.   
  
"Listen to them, Harry!" Ginny said, slapping him with a pillow as she did so. "They're still flirting!"  
  
"Ginny, some things just never change." With that, his arm shot out, and before she could stop him, he had grabbed her pillow. He smirked triumphantly at her, but a moment later had all the breath knocked from him when Ginny suddenly leapt forward and tackled him to the floor. Quite abruptly, Harry found a laughing Ginny Weasley on top of him, her delicate features bearing a triumphant smirk of her own.   
  
"Got ya."  
  
"That you did," Harry agreed, laughing despite himself. He reached up and ruffled her red hair, which floated down into his face.   
  
"Don't do that," she said, the look in her eyes telling him that she was serious and not simply joking with him.  
  
"Why not?" Harry asked in confusion. "I just ruffled your hair."  
  
"Exactly," Ginny said. "Ron does that to me all the time. I don't like it, especially when you do it. It makes me feel . . . oh, never mind." She rolled off of Harry with a sigh, sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched her brother and friend playfully attack each other.  
  
Harry sat up as well and laid a hand gently on her thin shoulder, noticing how she flinched ever so slightly at his touch. "No, don't 'oh never mind' me. You're my friend, and something's upsetting you. If it's something I did, I want to know so that I can fix it."  
  
With another sigh, Ginny turned to face him. "It's not your fault, Harry . . . and I know this is probably really stupid and silly of me. I don't even want to tell you. I mean, the last thing I need is for someone to think I'm crazy."  
  
Harry flashed her a grin. "There's no need to worry about it - I don't mind it if my friends are crazy. I mean, look at those two." He nodded towards Ron and Hermione.   
  
Ginny smiled faintly - and fleetingly. "It's just that . . . everyone treats me like their little sister. Even some people in my own year! It drives me crazy. I just want someone to see me as . . . something else. Not as a sister."  
  
Harry shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. After a moment's pause, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, Gin. They just treat you like that because you're so bloody loveable." He chuckled, eyes twinkling behind his glasses.  
  
Ginny blushed, but she was laughing. "Trust you to make me feel better," she said, rolling her eyes.   
  
Harry grinned. "You're welcome."  
  
Their banter was cut short, however, as a rather loud shriek could be heard from the other end of the room, followed by an even louder crash.   
  
"Ouch! Ron! You just chased me into a table, made me knock it down, then fell on top of me! Get off me, you big oaf!"  
  
"I think maybe it's time to call this quits," Harry said, walking over and helping Ron up - and off of Hermione - and then setting the table back upright again.   
  
"Probably a good idea," Ron agreed. "Before we break something." He reached down and took Hermione's hand, helping her to her feet as well. "Sorry about that."  
  
She looked slightly surprised at this gesture. "It's okay. Thanks, Ron." Then her eyes suddenly lit with a mischievous sparkle. "Why don't we all sleep down here tonight? You know, sort of like a campout?"   
  
Ron's response was instant. "Wicked!"  
  
"Could we get in trouble for that?" Ginny asked.  
  
Ron grinned. "Ginny, it's Hermione. Hermione the Prefect. Do you think she'd do something against the rules?"  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, you know very well that I can so break rules - if there's a need to. And Ginny, no, we're not going to get in trouble. No one's going to care if we sleep down here. I mean, it's just the four of us anyway."  
  
Ginny smiled. "Do you want me to go upstairs and get some blankets and pillows?"  
  
Hermione nodded, and Harry walked over to Ginny's side. "I'll go with you." With that, the two students headed up the stairs to the dormitories.   
  
  
A few minutes later, they returned, arms full of various bedding materials. "Are we going to sleep in chairs or on the floor?" Ginny asked.  
  
Hermione thought for a moment. "How about on the floor in front of the fire?"  
  
"Sounds good to me," Harry said, dumping his armful onto the floor and beginning to make up a bed for himself. The others did the same, and within minutes their "camp" was set up.   
  
Ron stretched out on his "bed", his lanky form just fitting onto the blankets. "Yeah, this'll do just fine," he said with a grin, then sat up. "You know what else we need? Food!" He immediately volunteered to "commandeer" some from the kitchen, and before anyone could stop him, he headed off.   
  
"Men." Hermione shook her head. "Always thinking with their stomachs."  
  
"Hey!" Harry protested playfully. Hermione chuckled and leaned over to give him a sisterly hug.   
  
"Well, I must admit, you aren't as annoying as most," she said with a smile.  
  
Ginny grinned, wanting desperately to say, "But I imagine you don't find him nearly as cute as certain others, hmm?" but deciding to keep her mouth shut. There would be a better time and place for such teasing - such as when her brother was around as well. Oh, that was going to be such fun, especially if Harry decided to help her out.   
  
Truthfully, though, while she did love to tease her brother, Ginny really wanted him to admit he fancied Hermione, and vice-versa. In her opinion, the two were meant to be together, only both were too stubborn - or stupid - to see it.   
  
A few minutes later, Ron came bursting back through the portrait hole. "That was fast," Hermione commented.  
  
"Yeah. House elves practically bombarded me with food the minute I walked in the door." With that, he dumped a rather large assortment of food onto a nearby table. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny headed over to make their selections, then went to sit down on their makeshift beds.  
  
The four friends ate and talked for a little while before deciding to go to sleep. By this time, it was very late, and they were all exhausted. With mumbled "G'night"'s going around the room, they all drifted into slumber.  
  
  
Some time later, around dawn, Professor Minerva McGonagall walked into the Gryffindor common room, intending to check on the few children that were left in the House. Undoubtedly, Potter had informed his friends of the latest "arrival" at Hogwarts. They might even be up still, discussing the young woman Reed. Professor McGonagall shook her head - even she didn't quite know what to make of the young lady. But Albus appeared to trust her, or at least believed she was indeed on their side - and how could he not, after she had been questioned with Veritaserum? And her former colleague Remus seemed to be somewhat taken with her . . . and she could certainly understand that attraction, the two of them having the same terrible curse.   
  
As she entered the common room, what she saw rather startled her. The children were there, asleep, lying on blankets by the fire. But what startled her was this: Ginny Weasley was sleeping curled up firmly against Harry Potter's side, her head resting on his chest, rising up and down with every breath he took. The girl looked quite peaceful, her vibrant hair appearing even redder in the light of the fire. But that was not all. Hermione Granger was snuggled up against the Weasley boy, Ron, in much the same position. It was apparent that they had started out on separate beds, but somehow during the night, ending up . . . cuddling together.  
  
A faint smile crossed Minerva's lips. "I think perhaps Albus just might lose that bet after all."   
  
  
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A/N II: To explain the ending: Dumbledore and McGonagall were betting on who would get together with who. Dumbledore said Harry and Hermione, McGonagall said Ron and Hermione, as well as Ginny and Harry. Kay? 


	6. All Over Again

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Chapter Six: All Over Again  
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Reed woke up and was instantly disoriented. Sitting up and gazing around the room, it took her several seconds to realize that she was in a guest room at Hogwarts, not the dusty old abandoned room she had inhabited for longer than she cared to remember.  
  
She shuddered at the thought of all the time she had spent there, completely alone, without anyone to talk to, or even a glimpse of another human face.  
  
She hated being alone.  
  
Being alone gave her entirely too much time to think...for her mind to go places she'd really rather it stayed far away from . . .   
  
Her thoughts drifted back to the people she had met the night before, and she imagined each of their faces in her mind, to help her remember who they were.  
  
Dumbledore. The headmaster of the school. Of course.  
  
McGonagall. Hogwarts teacher. Head of Gryffindor.  
  
Snape. Another teacher. Head of Slytherin. Reed wrinkled her nose as she thought of all the grease the man had had in his hair. She found it repulsive. Or maybe that had just been his attitude.  
  
Sirius. Some man. Reed wasn't sure exactly who he was, though his face did seem somewhat familiar. She shook her head. She could come back to him later.   
  
Then there was the boy whom she had first seen, Harry. Harry Potter. With his lightning bolt scar, he was unmistakable. He had seemed a nice enough young man, humble despite his extraordinary accomplishments.  
  
Then Lupin. Lupin. The man with the gentle gray eyes who had held her much of the night before.  
  
The man who was cursed just as she was. . .   
  
He'd made her feel safe. Reed couldn't even remember the last time she'd felt that foreign emotion, safety. People like her rarely got the luxury.  
  
Lupin must know that too.  
  
Strange to think that someone might actually understand her.  
  
With a sigh, Reed stood up and stretched. Just as she was heading into the bathroom to take a shower, there came a knock on her door.  
  
When she went to open it, she found Lupin standing outside.  
  
"Dumbledore wants to see you," he said gently. "In an hour. That should give you time to clean up first, if you want."  
  
Lupin's voice faltered. "I just want to warn you. He has more Veritaserum. However, I don't know what he's going to ask you this time."  
  
"Damn," Reed whispered softly. "I hate that stuff."  
  
She sighed, then gazed up into his gray eyes. She noted the lines in his face, and his gray hairs. Despite that, Reed realized that he was still a young man, not that much older than she. "Thank you," she said softly. "For warning me, and for last night. I'm sorry I was such a bother - I never meant to be . . ."  
  
Lupin suddenly seized her hand and gaze it a gentle squeeze. "You were not a bother, and don't you dare apologize. I was just glad I could help."  
  
Reed, acting on impulse, threw her arms around his neck and gave him a brief, but fierce, hug. "Thank you," she whispered into his neck, then just as suddenly let go and walked off to take a shower, leaving a startled Lupin behind.  
  
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A short time later, Reed had come out of the shower, changed into fresh clothes she had found in the room, and was nervously pacing from one wall to another.   
  
She was dreading taking more Veritaserum. The last dose she had been forced to take had nearly broken her.  
  
She wasn't ready for that again.  
  
But then again, she really had no choice.   
  
Reed sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. "This time, no matter what they ask me, I will not cry," she promised herself in a whisper.  
  
She was embarrassed for having broken down so completely. She couldn't do that. She couldn't afford to. So much was staked on their opinion of her. It would do her no good if they thought she was weak and useless.  
  
But Lupin didn't think I was weak, Reed thought to herself. He understands.  
  
Maybe more than she even knew.  
  
While Reed was pondering this and trying to prepare herself for the coming ordeal, there came another knock at her door.  
  
One again, it was Lupin, come to take her to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"I know this won't be much comfort, but I just want you to know that if you want, I'll stay with you during the questioning. Of course, I would more than understand if you don't want me there . . ." Lupin's voice trailed off.  
  
"No," Reed said quickly. "I want you there."  
  
Lupin reached out and squeezed her hand, sensing her trepidation. "It'll be okay. I'm not going to let them ask you anything you don't want to answer."  
  
"Thanks, but you know they're going to ask whether you say anything or not. It's inevitable."  
  
"It'll still be okay," Lupin insisted. Reed had to laugh.  
  
"I take it you're an optimist. I'm not so sure that's a good trait, but thanks for the encouragement."  
  
Lupin smiled, and led her down the hall.   
  
  
Several minutes later, they were back at Dumbledore's office. The headmaster was standing outside in the corridor waiting for them.  
  
Reed drew herself up to her full height when she saw him, and nodded respectfully. "Good morning, Headmaster."  
  
Dumbledore noticed the way Lupin was smiling at her for her composure, and he smiled himself. "Good morning, Reed." Despite her fine control and the fact that her apprehension was not at all apparent on her facial expression, Dumbledore could still see it in her eyes. He took her arm and led her gently into his office. Reed stared back at Lupin, who followed right behind them. It was obvious that she was afraid of what awaited her.   
  
Lupin smiled reassuringly and mouthed the words, "It's okay."   
  
She tried to smile back, but found that she could only concentrate on the feeling of ice congealing in her stomach.  
  
  
A few moments later, she was sitting in Dumbledore's office, Lupin right beside her and the Headmaster at his desk.   
  
"I want you to know something," Dumbledore said without preamble. "I don't believe that you are any threat to this school. However, there are some that do, and many more that will. I don't wish to subject you to any more interrogation, but I'm afraid that I don't have a choice."  
  
Reed sighed, nodding. "I understand."  
  
Dumbledore produced a small vial from somewhere in her desk and handed it to Reed. "You'll need to drink this," he said quietly. "More Veritaserum."   
  
Reed silently took the vial, tilted her head back, and drank. 


	7. The Beginning of the Order

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Chapter Seven: The Beginning of the Order  
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Dumbledore waited for the potion to take effect, then said quietly, "Are you ready to begin?"  
  
"No," Reed answered bluntly. "But let's just get this over with."  
  
"Very well." He leaned forward on his desk, his expression hard but his eyes soft. "What happened after your mother's...demise?"  
  
Reed's face adopted a blank, impassive look. The only true sign of her nervousness and discomfort was the tightness with which she gripped Lupin's fingers. "I went to live with my uncle. He and my mum were really close, and I think he was the only one who knew she was a witch - and a werewolf.   
  
"That only lasted a little while - only until the full moon came. Then, I transformed for the first time.  
  
"Even though his beloved sister had been one, my uncle couldn't bear the thought of sharing his house with a werewolf. I can't really blame him for that, either. So, he more or less threw me out, young as I was."  
  
"What?!" Lupin exclaimed. "That's terrible!"   
  
"It was a long time ago," Reed answered, turning to him and smiling very faintly at his concern.  
  
"Please, continue," Dumbledore interjected calmly.   
  
"Right. I got put into foster care, which just never worked. They were all Muggles, and I obviously couldn't tell them the whole story of what had happened to me. I hated having to keep all these secrets . . . especially when I received my letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. I wanted to go more than anything, but I couldn't tell anyone I was a witch, or they'd think me insane. And I didn't have the money to just run away and go myself. Plus, I didn't even know if they'd take me, being a werewolf and all.  
  
"So I had to keep up this constant charade. According to the people in charge of the foster care, I had come from an abusive family and had suffered severe trauma. I never stayed with any one family for very long, because every full moon, I had to run away to someplace secluded where I could transform. I didn't dare risk anyone catching me, or accidentally hurting someone. The families got fed up with my running away without an explanation and turning up again a bit later rather quickly. So I'd be moved to another family . . . it was an endless cycle.   
  
"I hated it, but I didn't really have much of a choice. I was too young to support myself, and there was nowhere else to go. So I forced myself to put up with it. Until, of course, everything became even more screwed."  
  
Reed blinked away one single tear lingering on her long lashes. "Can we just skip this part?"  
  
Dumbledore sighed, and the look on his face told her his answer before he had a chance to speak.  
  
Reed blinked again, then let out a long breath, as if mustering her courage. "Fine. I'd just turned thirteen when they put me with the last family. I really liked them. The mum was so nice to me, and she was more like a mother than any of the others had been. Jackie, the sister, was wonderful. She didn't treat me like some sort of unwanted freak like the others did - we actually became friends. I thought that, maybe, things were actually turning out okay. I was starting to remember what it was like to be happy.   
  
"'Course, that didn't last long. Besides Jackie, there was another kid in the family, an older brother. He was sixteen or seventeen, I think. Name was Brent. He pretty much kept to himself, so I didn't know him all that well.   
  
"That changed one night when the rest of the family had gone out somewhere, to the movies, I believe. He didn't go, because he said he'd rather 'spend the night with his thoughts'. He did that a lot - I think the boy was antisocial. I stayed home, too, because I wasn't feeling too well. Brent said he'd 'entertain' me."  
  
Reed rolled her eyes. "I was stupid. I was happy - I thought Brent and I were going to become friends. I thought he'd be like an older brother to me. Thought he wanted me to really be like his little sister.  
  
"Well, he really only wanted one thing from me, which certainly wasn't for me to be his little sister. And he got it. I tried fighting him, but he was so much bigger than me . . . I couldn't stop him."  
  
Tears began sluicing silently down her face, but she ignored them. "He hurt me so badly I couldn't move, and after he left, I just lay there on the rug weeping."   
  
Lupin was staring over at her, eyes wide with horror. He seemed unable to articulate words, tears forming in his own gray eyes. Reed met his gaze for a moment, then let go of his hand and looked away, almost frightened by the concern she saw there.  
  
Her voice dropped, sounding choked and hoarse. "Finally, I managed to get up, and went upstairs to my bedroom. I packed up the few things I had, and just left. I knew the parents would never believe me, and would just send me away again. I couldn't take it anymore. So I left."  
  
She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Life was even harder after that. I more or less lived on the streets. I'd do whatever odd jobs I could find for money, but money was still awfully rare. I'd have to steal food sometimes - I didn't have any choice. I still yearned to go to Hogwarts, to become a witch. I knew it wasn't possible, but I made up my mind to do whatever I could. I made my way to Diagon Alley, and started reading books on magic. I finally managed to save up enough money to buy a wand, and eventually, I started becoming a somewhat decent witch.   
  
"When I was about sixteen, I met two girls in the Leaky Cauldron - cousins. Aurora and Maya . . . they had a story similar to mine. Maya's mom, who was basically the only immediate family she had, had died, so she moved in with Aurora and her family, who were all Muggles. But, it turned out that Aurora and Maya were both witches, and when they got their letters to Hogwarts, Aurora's family was not happy, and forbade them both to go.   
  
"They still wanted to, however, and kept begging her parents. Finally, they'd had enough, and said that if Aurora and Maya begged anymore, they'd be sent away. I think the parents were scared that they were getting involved in something evil or unnatural or some such.   
  
"Anyway, Aurora and Maya didn't let up - and her parents were true to their word. They made plans to send them off to some sort of Home for Children. Aurora and Maya decided that wasn't going to happen - so then ran away, and didn't go back. They had more or less the same lifestyle I did after that point, as well as teaching themselves magic."  
  
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, but refrained from speaking.   
  
"We became friends, and things started getting a bit easier after that. I wasn't so completely alone, I had friends to talk to, people who could understand what I'd been through.   
  
"Then we went and managed to land ourselves in a huge mess of trouble, about a year ago."  
  
The gray eyed man sitting by her tilted his head a bit to the side, worn features filled with worry. "What kind of trouble?"  
  
"Well, there were a bunch of men in the Leaky Cauldron one day, and one of them kept repeatedly hitting on Maya. She wasn't interested, but tried to be polite . . . till we found out they were a bunch of Death Eaters. Aurora and I caught the Dark Mark on his arm while he was talking to her."  
  
The headmaster's eyes widened. "Did you join them?"  
  
Reed shook her head. "No. Well, not really. Let me finish and I'll explain everything."  
  
Despite the shadow of worry filling his eyes, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and nodded, letting her speak.  
  
"Maya was always the more . . . adventurous one of us. Call her stupid, call her courageous, but she was gutsy. She decided that since this guy had such an interest in her, maybe she could get some information out of him, which we could take to the Ministry of Magic. Aurora and I were kind of scared at the idea, at first, but we eventually decided she was right. We had a definite chance to get some valuable information, which could possibly save lives . .. and it wasn't like we had families to miss us if something happened.   
  
"So we developed a plan. Maya would hint to the guy that she had an interest in the Dark Arts, and he'd take her with him to the rest of the Death Eaters. She would send messages to Aurora - any information at all that she could get her hands on - who would follow along with them, but always stay out of sight. My job was to sneak into Hogwarts and stay there. Aurora would pass on Maya's messages to me, via owl, and if Voldemort planned to attack, I'd take all the information to you. If not, I was to stay quiet and hidden, because we all assumed you'd never believe this." She wasn't quite sure if the wide eyes she saw were because of her story, or the fact she had just called the Dark Lord by name.   
  
"You mean to tell me that there has been a sort of . . . espionage system . . . going on against Voldemort all this time that I wasn't aware of?" Dumbledore asked, almost incredulously.  
  
Reed nodded, lowering her eyes. "Yes. We wanted to help, and we didn't know how else to do it."  
  
"Young lady," Dumbledore said, a smile beginning to play across his lips, "you are some of the bravest girls I have ever heard tell of. Not many people would have had the guts to do what you've done."  
  
She shrugged. "What did we have to lose?"  
  
"What about your lives?" Lupin asked her softly. "Voldemort would certainly not let you live if he'd discovered your plans. Maya and Aurora are still in danger, and even you as well. You could have died."  
  
Reed fixed her large brown eyes onto his and quietly repeated her question. "What did we have to lose?"  
  
At that moment, Lupin looked as though he was about to get up from his seat and gather her into his arms, but Dumbledore's next words stopped him.   
  
"We have a lot of work that needs doing. Reed, are you and your friends up to continuing your 'system'?"  
  
She nodded. "If we're needed, of course."  
  
"You are needed. It's difficult to plant someone in with the Death Eaters so well."  
  
"I know." Reed raised her eyes to meet his, catching her full lower lip between her teeth. "The one thing I'm scared of, though . . ."  
  
"Yes?" Dumbledore inquired kindly.  
  
"If they do find out what we've been doing . . . is there any way we can pull Maya out?"  
  
"There's a chance. There's no way to give you a definite answer on that," he said grimly.   
  
"But there's a chance?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then that's all I need to know. It's not like we didn't realize we could all die going into this, but still . . . if I lose anyone else . . . ."  
  
Lupin reached over and squeezed her hand. "You won't," he murmured.   
  
Reed gave him a tiny smile. "You can't stop it from happening. But thank you."  
  
Dumbledore eyed them, then continued. "I think that this is finally the break we need to start."  
  
"Start what?" Lupin asked, taking his gaze from Reed to look curiously at the other man.  
  
"The Order of the Phoenix." 


End file.
